France, Britain meet to mend fences on Iraq

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says London and Washington want to see a democratic government installed in Iraq soon, but it cannot happen immediately.

Mr Straw was speaking after meeting French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, whose country is fiercely opposed to the war on Iraq, now in its 21st day.

"Both we and the United States obviously wish to see as quickly as possible the creation of a representative democratic Iraqi government, carrying the consent of its people, responsible crucially for its own security," Mr Straw told a news conference in Paris.

"That can't happen overnight," he stressed.

Mr De Villepin says Paris hopes the conflict will end "as quickly as possible", pointing to the humanitarian crisis in the country.

"The international community has to act to counter the humanitarian risk," he stressed, saying he hoped the United Nations would play a prominent role in post-war Iraq.

Mr Straw says he believes the war will be over soon, insisting the aim of the invasion is not to wrest control of the oil-rich country.

"It looks like we may be towards the end of hostilities," he said. "We all hope desperately that the conflict comes to an end."

"(This is) not a military action for conquest. It's a military action for liberation... We want the removal of (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein's government."

He says the search is continuing in Iraq for the weapons of mass destruction Britain and Washington accuse Iraq of possessing.

"The physical search for weapons goes on," he said.

"But the fact of this (weapons) program is a matter of history and reality... The charge sheet against Iraq has been laid out in 12 years of United Nations resolutions."